Chapter 12: The Turk, the Guardian, and the Angel
Once more, Cloud had a dream of the darkness. It wasn't quite the same this time. He didn't see the sleeping man or the witch at his head first. He saw Genesis flying through the dark sky, carrying a black bundle in his arms. As he landed, he set the bundle down, and it stood as a young person in a black robe, face hidden by its hood. "Come with me. Stay close," Genesis instructed. The black-garbed figure complied without hesitation.
He (or whoever it was) followed Genesis through a dark wood. He heard voices–moans and screams. The robed figure went after the voices, which led him to the Lifestream. Ghostly figures were raising out of the green waters but then falling back in. As the person in the black robe came closer, the specters screamed louder and pointed at him accusingly. He shied away from their wispy hands. One of them grabbed his wrist. Genesis quickly appeared, waved his staff, and the robed figure was freed. Genesis then put his hand around his visitor's shoulders. "I said stay close. Now, come." He led him on.
Then, Cloud saw the witch and the sleeping man. "It shall not be long now," the woman whispered. "Yes, in a matter of time, all shall be fulfilled. Your desire shall soon be granted. A little longer to endure." She stood upright. "Behold who is come! An early guest to your Reunion."
Genesis came forward, his hands on the shoulders of the black robed young man. The boy took off his hood, and his silver hair gleamed in the moonlight.
Kadaj.
He wasn't laughing anymore. In fact, for the first time, he looked confused, and perhaps even frightened. He looked so...hopeful that it was almost impossible. "I don't understand," he said softly. "Can he see me?"
"He knows you are here," Genesis answered.
"And he is glad," the woman added. "My boy, smile for me! Your smile is so beautiful."
"The corners of my lips hurt, Auntie. I'm sorry," Kadaj answered dejectedy, rubbing the sides of his mouth.
"He hasn't fully recovered from the spell," Genesis covered.
"That is of little consequence," the woman answered. "Go to him, Kadaj. Fear not, he is waiting."
Kadaj approached the sleeping man cautiously, as though he were looking into a casket. "Uh . . . hi. It's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm sorry my brothers couldn't come, but they send their . . ." He paused and looked at the woman. "I can hear him!"
"Yes. That is the bond. Now, take his hand. He has a gift for you."
"Remember, just one drop of the sweet nectar is all you require," Genesis told the boy before releasing his hold.
Kadaj edged closer and reached for the body slowly. He hesitated and whispered, "Yes. I forgive you." Then, Kadaj took his hand.
Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of green light. The sleeping man groaned and hyperventilated. Kadaj fell to his knees, screaming in pain. Genesis watched with a detached interest, but the woman raised her hands high above her head, her eyes glowing with triumph.
--
Cloud was awakened by a tickling sensation around his face. He blinked hard a few times before he opened his eyes. "What?" he muttered. He thought maybe it was a bug and tried to shoo it away, but then his hand brushed against something soft on his face. He opened his eyes, and his hand picked up what was on his left cheek–a black feather. Cloud gasped, and his heart started thudding like crazy. He looked down on floor next to his bed. There was a white feather! This could only mean one thing.
"He was in here! HE WAS IN HERE!" He immediately got up and checked all of his possessions in a craze.
Barret yawned, and his grumpy attitude caught up with him.. "For crying out loud, Cloud, you don't have to shout!"
"Quick, get up! Check your weapon, your items, your accessories, your gil. The thief was in here last night! He might have stolen something else!" He looked over everything of his about three times. Everything was accounted for. He ran to the girls' room and shouted instructions through the door. He went outside to see if Vincent saw anything, but Vincent wasn't there.
"Hey kid!" Cid called from behind him.
"You missing something?"
"Nah, I got everything, but I found somethin'. Your thief left his calling card, literally. Honestly, if you haven't been running around like a chocobo with its head cut off, you might have seen it!" Cid's gruff voice hinted anger and irritation.
"I already know about that! How did you think I know–?"
"Oh, you found the one that was under your pillow?"
"Under my . . . pillow?"
"Yeah. See for yourself."
Cid handed him an index card, much like the one he received with the Wastrel boots, but this one used a different font. It read:
"Follow me home."
Cloud turned it over to see if it had any more information, and he did find some information that would have been more helpful to learn previously:
"P. S. I didn't take anything this time."
Cloud paced around, repeating the first phrase to himself. "Follow me home. Follow me home. Follow me home." It was an invitation from the thief. Why? Was he giving Cloud a chance to get his sword back? Was he going to reveal and explain himself? Or could it be a trap? Even if it was, what other choice did he have?
Meanwhile, everybody else argued over the semantics of the phrase. "How can we follow him home?" Tifa asked. "We don't even know who he is! How can we know where his home is?"
"I don't think we're supposed to," Cloud answered. "That's not the point. He knows who I am. He's not telling me to go to his home. He asking me to meet him at my home." Cloud's intelligence and calm after the storm only proved that the hurricane that had swept through that morning must had been somewhat cathartic to him.
"So we have to go all the way back to Midgar?" Yuffie whined.
Cloud shook his head. "Nibelheim."
"How do you know?" Tifa asked, wonderingly.
"I'm not sure, but something's telling me I must return to where it all started."
Before someone could ask what Cloud meant or how he got this intuition, Vincent emerged, his head held high with purpose. Red XIII bounded after him, Cait Sith hanging onto the creature's back.
"Well, there you are!" Cloud yelled, running up to greet him. He looked closely at Vincent's face. "You look better."
"I feel better," Vincent replied, though he still sounded weary.
"Did you solve your riddle?"
Vincent shook his head. "But perhaps I don't need to."
Hallelujah, Cloud thought. "Listen, while you were out here, did you see anyone suspicious?"
"Not while I was out here. I did see someone, but . . . it might have been little more than a vision."
"Anything unusual about him, like wings?"
"No, nothing like that." Vincent seemed adamant.
"Alright then." Nobody saw him. He didn't take anything. So the only thing left to do was follow his instructions. "Everyone, to Nibelheim! Let's go!"
Yet as they left, Aerith looked at Vincent with concern. "Are you sure you're alright?" She looked closer at his face and gasped. "You've been crying!"
Vincent instinctively glared at her for making such an accusation, but then he dropped his eyes as though he was humiliated. He turned away and answered, "I will not give up hope," though it sounded like he was saying it more to himself than he was to her. He walked on.
Aerith looked at him, puzzled, and followed. She couldn't tell how he was feeling, everything felt so mixed up.
--
This is the moment he both anticipated and dreaded. Everything he'd been doing since emerging out of the Lifestream had led to this. There was no fanfare of trumpets or clash of cymbals. It just was like every other moment. Well, the less fanfare, the better. But what was he to do now? He looked everywhere he could think of, and he still hadn't found the key. He had hoped, no expected, to have more success than this. He paced anxiously, trying to devise a last minute alternative that might work.
Then, he heard Reno's voice. "OK, here we are. Listen, I need you to tell Tseng what you just told me. Just a second." The helicopter door opened, flooding the cabin with sunlight. Reno and Elena both came in, looking anxious, like they hadn't slept all night. "Hey Tseng?" Reno said. "Reeve's on the phone. He was just telling us about something. We've been doing all we could to figure it out, but we think that you might be able to decipher it."
"Alright," Tseng said tiredly. Reno handed him the phone. "What is it, Reeve?"
"Colorless green ideas sleep fiercely," the voice said on the other end. (Boom. Bombshell dropped.)
Tseng's eyes grew wide. "Say that again, slowly."
"Colorless . . . green . . . ideas . . . sleep . . . fiercely."
Of course, Noam's final, most controversial words! It had to be a clue. "Where did you hear that?" He spoke earnestly, his voice unable to conceal his anticipation.
"Vincent Valentine's been saying it the whole trip to himself. I've been meaning to say something about it, but I can never remember how it goes. I made a point to listen to it closely last night. Do you know what it means?"
"I might," he answered vaguely. "At least, I think I do."
"He's been acting weird during the whole journey, staring into the Lifestream like he's in some sort of trance. Then last night, he went into that sealed cave, talking to himself, and this morning he came out with this look on his face like he figured out the mystery he's been trying to unravel this whole time."
He must have figured it out. Good job, Valentine! The Guardian must have helped him. "Alright, listen closely to me. Cloud needs to follow his own path, but I need for you to encourage the others to stay near the Lifestream."
"No problem. What for?"
"I think they have figured something out, and I need to have a little talk with them." He hung up before he could explain any more. He closed the helicopter door and started going to the controls. Then, almost as an afterthought, he turned to Elena and Reno. "You can come if you want."
"What's going on?" Reno asked. Once again, he was out of the loop.
"Yeah, what are we doing?" Elena echoed.
Tseng regarded them mysteriously. "You've wanted to know this whole time what I've been up to. Now's your chance to find out. Plus, there's bound to be some action."
"Say no more," Reno replied, strapping himself in. Finally, some answers that are answers! And the action's just a cherry on top.
--
Just as soon as Reeve got off of the phone, it rang again. He answered, "Urban Development Department."
"Reeve?"
"Oh, Mr. President sir! What may I do for you?"
"I need a big favor from you. You've been keeping contact with the Turks through Reno, right?"
"Yes sir."
"I need you to get him to tell us anything he knows about Tseng's whereabouts. There's something important I need to tell him."
"Actually sir, I was just talking to him. He's planning to rendezvous with Cloud's group soon. I think he wants to know what we know."
"Excellent. Then do this for me. When you meet with Tseng, transmit your coordinates right away so that I can access them and speak with him personally. It would also be helpful if Cloud was there, so if he's apart from the group wait until he rejoins."
"That should be no problem at all, sir. I'll make sure you'll get them right away."
--
"I knew I could trust you, Reeve. Thank you, kindly." The spy put down his two-way radio and smiled at Rude.
"I've never heard someone imitate Rufus's voice so well," Rude said. "You must be an actor."
The spy chuckled. "I do have an interest in the theatre."
Rude smirked. The spy took up the receiver again. "Now what?"
"Now we set the stage."
--
They had to cross another river, but they found a large tree lying across the water like a bridge. It did not look like it had been struck by lightning. Cloud sighed. Another coincidence-that-really-wasn't-just-chance.
Nibelheim was another community that didn't look like it had changed at all, but then again to Cloud it always felt like a frozen memory. He started asking around to see if anyone saw anybody suspicious. He made sure not to say anything about wings. Nearly everybody he talked to said they hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. Then one guy by the Shinra mansion said he thought he saw someone just before sunrise walking across town slowly. The witness called to him, but he didn't respond. He was heading out of town toward Mt. Nibel. Sure enough, as they passed the Shinra mansion, they found more feathers on the ground.
"Cloud! Look!" Aerith ran ahead to a place on the side of the road, where several trees had limbs cut off. "What's this?"
Cloud drew nearer to the trees and looked at them closely. "I've never seen this path before, so it must have been made recently. These limbs were cut down by a very sharp blade. What the–?" He reached down and picked up something on the ground. "A purple apple?"
"Dumbapple," Aerith said. "From white banora trees. Zack told me about them. They're kinda rare."
"What does it taste like?"
"I don't know. Cloud!" She pulled a black feather off a broken limb.
"So, it's him. He's cleared us a path. He wants us to come."
Maranatha!
Cloud turned to Aerith in surprise. "That sounded close!"
"I thought so, too!"
"Come on." They started going down the newly-made path..
"Hey!" Yuffie called. "You guys are going the wrong way!"
"Yeah man, Mt. Nibel's over here," Barret said.
"We gotta check this out," Cloud answered. "I think the thief's leading us over here."
"Hey wait," Cait Sith said suddenly, "what about the Lifestream?"
"What about it?"
"Well, that was our whole purpose, right? We've detoured for so long without much reason. The Turks could be taking it over, you know." There was no hint of Reeve in the robotic cat's Scottish brogue.
"You got a point. OK, one more person can come with us, and the rest of you go back to the Lifestream and look out for Turks. What about you, Vincent? Your head out of the clouds?"
But Vincent wasn't paying attention. He spotted movement on the other side of the forest. "YOU!" Vincent yelled, pointing. A large man in a red coat was standing there. He took one look at Vincent and then calmly turned away. "DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!" Vincent pointed his gun at the stranger.
"What is it, Vincent?" Cloud asked, running to his side.
"He did it! He's leading us astray! I won't let him get away with it!"
"Who?"
Vincent looked ahead. The stranger had disappeared. "Never mind." But as he looked closer, he spotted a blue chocobo. He started to remember this place. It was near. He wandered off.
Cloud shook his head, bewildered and slightly frustrated with his insane ravings. "OK, Vincent's out. So . . ."
"Cloud?" Aerith said softly. "I think we should go alone."
"Are you sure?" He turned round.
"Since we're the only two that can hear the voice of the planet, it won't do any good to have anybody else."
"I just don't want what happened at the Temple of the Ancients to repeat itself."
"It won't."
"Alright then. Tifa, you're in charge. Lead everybody down the Lifestream."
"Yes sir, Cloud," she said, saluting him playfully, and they parted. Cloud led the way down the new path, partly because Aerith was being extra slow. The place sounded eerily quiet. He couldn't even hear crickets or birds. "I wonder what was wrong with Vincent," Cloud said aloud to break the silence.
"Shh!" Aerith said. She looked all around. "Are you here? Did you call to us?"
Yes.
Cloud gasped. He was starting to think the planet had only a two word vocabulary, but here it was starting a conversation.
"What do you need for us to do?" he asked.
I hurt. I feel so weak. Make it stop.
"How?"
But Aerith asked a question right at the same time. "Where do you hurt? Is it here, in this place?"
I'm afraid of this place. It's where they used to live.
"They?"
The people who hurt me, who liked hurting me.
"Are they there now?"
No. They've been gone for a long time. One of them came back.
"Is he here?" Cloud asked, but the planet didn't answer.
"Cloud, I'm worried. There's dark magic all around us, repulsing the planet. I fear if we go any further, we'll be completely alone," Aerith said, shivering at the thought.
"Hey, the whole reason we came was to stop it, right?" Cloud's never-say-die attitude reigned. He kept going down the new path, and Aerith followed tentatively. The path ended in a hole in the side of a hill. Cloud looked inside. Is this what he thought it was?
"What do you think is down here?"
He kinda wanted to say it, and he kinda didn't. From all he heard, this is probably where it happened. Could the thief had been responsible? He leaned down and picked up a white feather lying in the mouth of the cave. Cloud took a deep breath and replied with a word he never thought he'd use.
"Destiny."
--
Vincent guided the chocobo over the rough terrain, trying to remember where it was. It had to be close! Once he found water, he directed the chocobo to skid over the smooth current. He followed upstream until he found it–a calm pool and a waterfall. He landed on the shore, dismounted, and patted the chocobo's flank. The bird squeaked in response. Vincent looked toward the cave on the other side of the waterfall, took a deep breath, and waded in the pool.
--
"Come on guys, this way!" Tifa called, gesturing to the Lifestream.
"Jealous, boss?" Wedge asked as he walked next to Barret.
"Hmm, what?" he answered, distracted.
"You know, with Tifa leading."
"Yeah," Biggs joined in. "Tifa may have founded AVALANCHE, but you insisted on being the leader. Now, she's taken over. You seem pretty calm, but I bet you're steamed inside."
Barret sighed. "It's for the best," he said under his breath.
"Hey," Jessie said. "That doesn't sound like the Barret we know. What's going on?"
"Is it that new job you have?" Wedge asked.
"It's just experience!" Barret snapped. "You know, I really shouldn't have come. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have let you get mixed up with me again."
"Alright Barret," Tifa said, turning around with her hands on her hips. "You're not allowed to say things like that! You're a great fighter, and we need you!"
"You don't understand." Barret sat down, hiding his face in his one hand. "They called me a terrorist."
"What?!" everybody said, crowding around him.
"THEY CALLED ME A TERRORIST!" Barret repeated, flushed with shame and anger. He wiped the sweat of his forehead. "When I was running for office, my past was made public. They talk about my blowing up the Mako reactor in Shinra and listed all the casualties caused from that. They said I killed thousands of people and destroyed most of Midgar. And you know what? They're right!" His face contorted in self-loathing.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Cait Sith spoke up. "This is all about some mudslinging?! For crying out loud, Shinra was responsible for most of those casualties!"
"Yeah, but it happened because of my plans with AVALANCHE. Most people didn't believe it. I mean, I got elected after all. But my reputation has never been the same. It hardly seems fair. They call Cloud and Tifa heroes, but they think I'm just the big, scary guy with a gun for an arm."
"Is that what this is about?" Cid yelled annoyed. "That's no big deal! You can't imagine some things people said about me when this was all over, and do you think I care? Ha!"
"Well, it's different for even you. All those kids were running toward you, calling your name. Children run away from me. I've gotten a lot of letters from parents saying I've been giving their kids nightmares. It's even gotten to the point that they questioned if Marlene is safe with me."
"That does it!" Cait Sith called out again, this time dropping his accent. "When this is all over, I'm coming to Corel, and I'm going to be your new publicist." The robotic cat jumped off Nanaki's back, walked over to Barret, and pledged allegiance.
"No, I don't need to get you tangled up in this. It's not your mess!"
"Well, you need someone to get you out of it! I mean, you deserve a lot more than this. You could be mayor someday."
Barret groaned and looked away. They'd never understand. I don't want to do politics anymore. I'm no leader!
"Come on. I helped convince people that Shinra was a utopia, even when I had my doubts. How much more could you expect me to do for you?"
Someone scoffed in response. "Kinda blowing your cover there, aren't ya Reeve?" Everybody turned around and saw Reno and Elena standing on the bank of the Lifestream. Elena had her arms crossed trying to look cool, and Reno wore his trademark smirk.
"Turks!" Tifa yelled. Everybody stood and took a defensive stance.
"Let's see," Reno said, "Cloud's not here, of course, and I guess the Ancient girl went with him, and the pale guy? Pity, all the most interesting folks in the bunch are gone."
"Hey, is Cloud the only one who has a name in your book?"
Reno opened his mouth to make another wise-guy retort when the answer came from behind him, "I should say not, Miss Lockheart." Tseng advanced from the helicopter, stepped in front of the two Turks, and bowed his head at Tifa. "Greetings."
"Hello, Tseng," she replied in an uncertain tone.
"There's no need to get defensive. I have a business proposition for you, and I think you'll be quite interested."
--
"Did you have that dream about Kadaj?" Aerith asked as she and Cloud made their way through the tunnels of the cave.
"Oh, oh yeah! I haven't really thought about it much, since this all started happening," he answered.
"Wasn't it just awful? I mean, the poor boy."
"At least he's not laughing his head off anymore. I wonder what was happening to him. Who knew glory could hurt so much?"
"That wasn't glory. He only thought it was."
"How do you know?"
"Only the Lifestream can give true glory, and only for those whom the Lifestream deems worthy."
They reached the end of one tunnel, only to find a very familiar setting–a maze of level structures, stairs, and vines. "No . . . it can't be . . ." Aerith whispered.
"You know where you are, don't you?" Cloud suddenly spoke up.
"It can't be the same place. The temple was destroyed, and . . . it's so quiet here. It's like . . . the planet has abandoned this place."
"I know it looks like the Temple of the Ancients, but you know what it is really, do you?"
"What?"
"It's the western cave in Mt. Nibel. This is where Tseng died." As he looked down on the ground in the maze, he noticed that someone drew a line in the dust, a rather sharp, narrow line. "He's shown us the way through the maze. He's made it easy on us . . . maybe too easy." Cloud's voice softened in apprehension.
"You think it's a trap?"
"I know it is," he replied with hateful anger. "He's waiting for us now, but I'm ready for him. I'm ready to see him face to face. And if it is Zack, I'm not going to go easy on him."
Aerith looked away sadly and said nothing. Cloud started following the line in the sand.
--
"You seek the answer to the mystery of the Lifestream, why it's behaving so strangely," Tseng said carefully. "I can tell you."
"What?!" Reno cried with a look of complete astonishment on his face. "You're gonna squeal to them the secrets of the Lifestream, and you won't talk to us about it?"
"But," Tseng said, motioning for Reno to stop, "this information come at a price."
"No deal!" Barret answered, pointing his machine gun arm at Tseng. "We don't negotiate with Turks!"
"Well, that's not for you to decide, is it?" Tseng replied.
"Barret, lower your weapon," Tifa said calmly.
"Tifa, you're not gonna–"
"It might prove useful." She looked at Tseng. "Name your terms."
"Very good," Tseng replied with a small bow. "It is my understanding that you have a large stock of materia."
"Huh?" Yuffie said. She crossed her arms and shook her head vigorously. "Uh-uhh, that's off limits!"
"I'm not finished. All I ask is to search through your inventory for one particular materia."
"Just one?" Tifa asked. "What kind is it?"
"A very rare kind, one that I believe will help both our causes."
"If it's so rare and you want it so bad, it's not gonna come cheap," Yuffie yelled. "One million gil!"
"You won't get a cent."
"Then no way!" Yuffie said, shaking her head again, her childishness reigned supreme.
"Then I'm afraid my information will remain confidential."
"Hang on, Yuffie, that sounds fair," Tifa replied. "Go get your box."
"Tifa!" Yuffie whined annoyingly.
"Well, if they don't find it, they'll probably leave us alone, and we'll still get our information. It sounds pretty important." Then, she winked at Yuffie. Yuffie nodded with a grin.
"Better not let that girl get it, Tseng," Elena warned.
"Yeah, she's got sticky fingers," Reno added.
Yuffie turned to them, with the same mischievous grin, and licked both palms of her hands.
Reno made a disgusted face. "EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW!"
"Act your age!" Elena said, putting her hands on her hips. Yuffie just giggled.
Tifa sighed and shook her head. "I'll hand them over."
"Good," Tseng nodded.
She came near to Tseng with the box of materia. He bowed to her in thanks, and she bowed to him. "So tell me, Tseng," she said as she set them down, "what's worse, sticky fingers, or THESE fingers?" With that, she punched him hard, almost breaking his nose. "BARRET, YUFFIE, LET'S GO!"
"OH YEAH!" Yuffie squealed as she got into battle formation.
Reno and Elena started to run into their positions, but Tseng stopped them. "No. This is my fight."
"Three against one?" Reno asked.
Tseng drew his pistol. "It's about time."
--
He stepped out of the pool and stared around the cave, all surround in blue crystal. There was a hush over this place, like the epitome of serenity. He walked toward the back of the cave until he found her.
"Lucretia," Vincent whispered. A once beautiful woman was before him, now completely frozen in the crystal. He put his hand on the crystal pillar and even started to cry. "If only, if only you said yes. This would have been easier on both of us."
"It is futile to dwell in the past," a voice said behind him. Vincent turned and saw the same stranger who met him in the Gi Cave. He still couldn't see him clearly because of the darkness of the cave and the split reflections from the crystals.
"True, but it is just as futile to dwell in the present" Vincent turned again and put his face against the crystal pillar. "Everything is futile without her."
"So yours is a love story. I never would have guessed. Is that why you've come here, searching through the past to find your future?"
"Who are you?" Vincent demanded again.
He heard the sliding of metal. He could see in one crystal's reflection that the stranger had just drawn a long sword. "Who do you think I am, Valentine?" he asked darkly. Vincent could almost detect the sneer in his voice.
"I don't know," Vincent answered as he turned and drew his gun, "BUT YOU'RE NO FRIEND OF MINE!"
--
Cloud and Aerith followed the line in the dirt where it went, fighting a few monsters on the way. It led to a multi-room chamber, much like the clock room in the Temple of the Ancients, but then it went toward one particular chamber. They followed it to a small room with a single, empty podium. Hieroglyphics were scribbled on its base.
"Can you read it?" Cloud asked.
Aerith shook her head. "No. It's not Cetra."
Cloud knelt down, looking at it closer, and he noticed a card stuck to the bottom. He took it and found another typed note, which he read aloud. "Translation: This sword was surrendered to me peaceably by Eli of the Cetra warriors. Its secret art died with him, yet my mother's sister placed a new secret art upon the blade. Test it, who dares!" He gaped as he saw the signature to the message, "Sephiroth the Great."
"Sephiroth? He wrote this message?"
"No, I think it's part of the translation, but it's amazing that it's the same name. It can't be a coincidence, can it?"
Just then, Cloud heard fluttering behind him. He swiftly turned around just as he saw feet land on the ground. Zack was standing right behind him, in his SOLDIER uniform. The only difference now was he had two huge wings, one white and one black, unfurled behind him.
"There you are!" Cloud said, drawing Maranatha.
"Here I am," Zack echoed with a smirk. "Took you long enough. I expected better from a first class SOLDIER. Oh wait, that wasn't you," Zack continued in a smart aleck tone as he drew Cloud's sword. "That was me!"
"Hey, that's mine! You stole it from me!"
"You want it back? Come and get it!" Cloud walked forward and reached for it, even though he knew it wasn't going to be this easy. Sure enough, Zack held it out of his reach. "Uh uh uh!" he said, shaking his finger. "Come on, you know the drill. You gotta earn it first. So show me what you can do! Let's see if you're the hero they all say you are."
"Oh, I'll get it back," Cloud said coldly as he gripped Maranatha's hilt. "You're about to find out that right now I want that sword back more than anything in the world."
--
The battle with Tseng was at first the same ole, same ole. Tifa would throw a punch. Tseng would shoot. Barrett would shoot back. Yuffie tried to steal off of Tseng, and when he was too quick for her, she used her best materia. That's when things got crazy.
"You talk too much, child," Tseng said, and he snapped his fingers. Yuffie tried to say another spell, but when she moved her lips, no sound came out.
"Silence!" Tifa said. "I think I got an Echo Screen somewhere."
"And you," Tseng said meanwhile, turning to Barrett, "you need clarity. I'd give it to you, but I'm afraid there's no time for sloppiness." He waved his hand. Suddenly, Barret felt tremendously dizzy. His vision blurred, and he couldn't tell where he was aiming. He accidentally shot Yuffie and then shot himself. They both fell. Tifa gasped as she looked at both their bodies. "Do you surrender?" Tseng said coldly.
Tifa answered by charging directly at him. With a spinning kick, she knocked the pistol out of his hand. "So, what trick do you have up your sleeve this time?"
He answered by lunging into a melee attack.
--
Cloud and Zack were both just clashing swords, so far evenly matched. Aerith stood in the distance watching with horror.
"You know, I really like this sword. I can see why you got it." Zack split it in two. "It's two for the price of one, a real bargain!"
"I know," Cloud said as he pressed in closer. "Makes me wonder why you took the Buster Sword too!"
"Actually, Angeal took it. He's had it cleaned, polished, and sharpened. He always got onto me about keeping it in good shape. He wasn't too happy that you let it go to pot."
"Angeal?"
"He was before your time."
Cloud couldn't understand why Maranatha's power wasn't really kicking in. "Come on, I want this!" he whispered under gritted teeth. Suddenly, when he hit Zack's swords, red sparks appeared that knocked Cloud back.
"Oh, that cuts me deep, Cloud," Zack said sarcastically.
"What? It hurt me, not you."
"It means you hate me."
"No, I don't hate you! I'm not very happy with what you did, but–"
"All the same, you got hate in your heart. And that sword doesn't take too kindly to hate. I think you've seen me a little bit too long as your faceless enemy. I thought we were friends." The light played out the sadness in his eyes as Zack reached out his hand.
No, he wasn't falling for that trick. "Yeah . . . I thought we were, too." Cloud got up on his own and struck again. The sword clanged sharply, and the tussle brought them inches apart. He sneered. "But I guess we're not, are we?"
Zack smiled. "Have it your way, buddy." He struck a critical blow.
--
This stranger was almost impossible to defeat. He just kept deflecting Vincent's bullets with that sword. There was only one way left to beat him. Vincent felt rage build inside him, like a wild fire. When he felt it claim his heart, he ceased to be human.
Galian Beast roared and jumped at the stranger.
--
Tseng and Tifa continued a struggle of martial arts and other physical combat. "Where did you learn to fight, Miss Lockheart?"
"That's none of your business!" she replied as she punched him again. "And call me 'Miss Lockheart' one more time. I'd really like that!" she added through gritted teeth.
"Because I must say, you fight like a Turk!"
"You make that accusation again, and I'LL KNOCK ALL THE TEETH OUT OF YOUR HEAD!"
"I'd like to see you try!" he answered as he punched her back.
Meanwhile, Reno and Elena were just watching them. "You ever seen the boss fight like this?" Reno mumbled to her.
"I've seen him do a lot of things I've never seen him do before," Elena answered, muttering too.
"That's true."
They kept fighting for several minutes. Then, Tseng backed up and stood still. "This was fun, Miss Lockheart, but I'm afraid your time is up," he said coldly. He acted like he was pulling an invisible rope in front of her, then he punched it back. Tifa suddenly felt immense pain and fell back unconscious.
--
Vincent's Berserk Dance was a little bit more successful. He was at least getting a hit on the stranger. Then, his opponent was surrounded by an orange glow. He raised his sword high and charged as fast as he could straight into the beast. The pain overwhelmed the monster, and it fell back and materialized as an unconscious man.
--
"So Zack, tell me, are you an angel, or a demon?" Cloud said as he parried again.
"You really like to talk when you fight, don't you? I know where you got that from." Zack struck at him again. Cloud backed up. He could tell Zack was trying to go in for the kill. "But to answer your question . . . I came from the same place she did," Zack said nodding toward Aerith. "Why don't you ask her?"
Cloud was distracted for just a second as he turned back to Aerith, her face half hid by her hands. As he looked at her, pondering why she looked so frightened, he felt a painful blow at his side, and he was knocked over. Aerith gasped.
"Aerith, heal me," Cloud pleaded.
Aerith slowly picked up her rod and stared down at him, but she had a frozen look on her face. She was breathing hard. How come? She wasn't fighting.
"Sorry, buddy," Zack said. "I know it's bad form to attack when one's back is turned. Of course, it's also unwise to turn your back on an enemy."
Rage filled inside Cloud. With an angry yell, he jumped to his feet, charged at Zack, and unleashed his Omnislash Limit Break. It had powered up over time, and he was so sure it would take Zack down, without any problems.
His sword came down and down and down, his strength poured into every blow. When he was done, though, the sword thief was still standing. He didn't even look weak. He blinked once, twice. "Not bad, Spiky." He smirked slightly.
How? How? Cloud looked again at Aerith. "Did . . . did you just–?"
WHAM! Zack slammed the sword into Cloud's side, and Cloud fell back. All of his remaining strength drained out of him, and he passed out.
